Stories

Story·Olivia Michelle Smit, age 13 — A ten-year-old Sioux boy participates in his first buffalo hunt, kills the largest buffalo in the herd, and earns his adult name, Buffalo Spirit.

Story·Ethan Levin, age 13 — Two astronauts on a routine mission are redirected to stop a massive meteorite heading for Earth, but fail, crash-landing on the devastated planet to become humanity's new beginning.

Story·Ani Wilcenski, age 11 — A boy watches snow transform the landscape and records the lives of forest creatures, while his father sees only an eyesore to remove.

Story·Ella Jane Lombard, age 13 — In 1976 apartheid South Africa, a boy secretly joins student uprisings until police arrest his mother, forcing him to send his siblings to safety and flee to join guerrilla fighters.

Story·Ryan Traynor, age 12 — A boy navigates through tall grass and obstacles during an intense game of Capture the Flag, culminating in his team's victory when he grabs the flag.

Story·Jenna Lasby, age 13 — A girl with a walking stick from an old injury rescues her brother from the same river where she was hurt, finding courage through a butterfly's example.

Story·Anonymous, Illustrated by Madeleine Gates — A seven-year-old moves from California to Chicago, struggles with homesickness and lost friendships, then finds connection through soccer and a new friend named Jonathan.

Story·Téa Freedman-Susskind, age 10 — A young violinist overcomes nerves to audition with Vivaldi's Winter, wins a competition, and performs at Seattle's Benaroya Hall on the first day of winter.

Story·Anika Kwan, age 10 — A girl annoyed by her younger neighbor's clinginess realizes she's the child's role model, just as an older girl once was for her.

Story·Victoria Boyden, age 12 — A sister recounts the day Arachne challenged Athena to a weaving contest and was transformed into a spider, then encounters her again years later.